Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Me Swimming
Alright, here I am in all my glory. I haven't seen my self swim on video since Stacey bought me some swim lessons with David Fix at Endure It for XMas back in 2007.
I think maybe my right arm drifts extends outward away from my center-line a bit too much, and my hands move around a surprisingly large amount. On the plus side, I think my forward arm extension has improved significantly over the past few weeks. Effort wise, I'm working pretty hard in the video, and by the third 50 I could feel some fatigue. I don't have a trained eye, but it's hard for me to see my elbow during the catch due to the low video quality.
My favorite part is at the very end when the lifeguard asks Stacey to put the camera away.
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Thanks for posting this Evan. A few things straight away...
ReplyDelete1) Learn to bilateral breathe (breathe to both sides). It looks as though you only turn your head to the left.
2) I can't quite tell by the video but it looks like you're wearing normal (baggy) shorts. If so, don't do it! Instead, wear a swimsuit. You're not in the position to create any more drag than you already are.
3)There is work to do! Start by using a big pull-buoy (or two) for flotation and work on streamlining more, without having to worry about generating speed to stay afloat.
You're right about your hands/arms flailing around and it throws everything else off, thus the wide scissor kick every so often. Focus on this first: Clean hand entry, bilateral breathing, high elbows under water. Don't tackle too many things at once.
I will work on the bilateral breathing. I've actually done quite a bit of it before, and feel comfortable swimming that way so long as my effort level doesn't get too high.
ReplyDeleteMy shorts are the style I believe is referred to as "jammers."
Any tips on streamlining?
Streamlining is about rotation/roll and implementing a bit of a catch-up stroke. The biggest aspect of swimming is drag reduction, not propulsion so it's important you work on these things. Your legs are your biggest drag (so to speak) and you need to work on getting them more horizontal. This comes from a more powerful kick (quick feet with limited wasted motion) and from your midsection...basically, you've got to engage those muscles that help left your bottom half as you swim. Pretend your swimming downhill (head down), as it might also help. I'll get into this in greater detail via e-mail and once I see some more videos. I like this video stuff!
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